Siren

Sunday

Sorry about the sparse posts lately. I have been preoccupied with getting a book published. I have hired a very good editor, and she gives me assignments which eat up all of my writing energy.

Yesterday, I decided I needed a change of scenery to get anything done. So, I booked a room in downtown Minneapolis, a suite with an office area. It was a perfect work space, and reasonably priced, at least last night. The whole hotel was pretty outdated and the room I was in was sort of beat up, but it was clean and spacious. So, I thought I might rent it for a few days and work.

Well, the price doubled for subsequent days. So I got on the web and randomly chose a lodge in Siren, WI for my next stop.

It is ideal. Siren is a town of 800 people, just like Fertile, and this is a lodge like what we could use in Fertile. Everything is rustic timber. The rooms are large. There are a lot of little side rooms where I will be able to sit and work in silence. And the price is great. So, I might stay a few days.

The task sounds large, but is not. Last winter, I wrote a manuscript of 70,000 words. Upon review by several trusted advisors, and then a professional editor, it became clear that some parts of the book are much stronger than others. The editor broke it to me gently, but large swaths of the book need to be cut. I just cut 15,000 words two days ago. That amounts to fifteen days of work last winter, but I don't think about that. It doesn't hurt because I now recognize that what is being cut is simply bad writing. I am relieved to have the bad writing eliminated before the book goes to publication.

I also am going to try to add some stories and see if they fit into the book as it stands after the cuts.

And, the most difficult task of all: Finding a title that will sell.

What is most enjoyable is that the editor has succeeded in pointing out to me what writing of mine works and why. I now see what doesn't works and I know why.

Learning is never painless. You must let go of things. Like 15,000 words you thought were good but were not. That can be depressing. And then you wake up relieved to know you will never make that particular mistake again, which is a good feeling. And you press onward, which is the single most crucial element in the entire endeavor.

Sorry about the sparse posts lately. I have been preoccupied with getting a book published. I have hired a very good editor, and she gives me assignments which eat up all of my writing energy.

Yesterday, I decided I needed a change of scenery to get anything done. So, I booked a room in downtown Minneapolis, a suite with an office area. It was a perfect work space, and reasonably priced, at least last night. The whole hotel was pretty outdated and the room I was in was sort of beat up, but it was clean and spacious. So, I thought I might rent it for a few days and work.

Well, the price doubled for subsequent days. So I got on the web and randomly chose a lodge in Siren, WI for my next stop.

It is ideal. Siren is a town of 800 people, just like Fertile, and this is a lodge like what we could use in Fertile. Everything is rustic timber. The rooms are large. There are a lot of little side rooms where I will be able to sit and work in silence. And the price is great. So, I might stay a few days.

The task sounds large, but is not. Last winter, I wrote a manuscript of 70,000 words. Upon review by several trusted advisors, and then a professional editor, it became clear that some parts of the book are much stronger than others. The editor broke it to me gently, but large swaths of the book need to be cut. I just cut 15,000 words two days ago. That amounts to fifteen days of work last winter, but I don't think about that. It doesn't hurt because I now recognize that what is being cut is simply bad writing. I am relieved to have the bad writing eliminated before the book goes to publication.

I also am going to try to add some stories and see if they fit into the book as it stands after the cuts.

And, the most difficult task of all: Finding a title that will sell.

What is most enjoyable is that the editor has succeeded in pointing out to me what writing of mine works and why. I now see what doesn't works and I know why.

Learning is never painless. You must let go of things. Like 15,000 words you thought were good but were not. That can be depressing. And then you wake up relieved to know you will never make that particular mistake again, which is a good feeling. And you press onward, which is the single most crucial element in the entire endeavor.

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